Mission Accomplished

Harry Reid has come out in agreement with George Bush on Iraq relative to winning of the military action part of the war; "The military mission has long since been accomplished. The failure has been political. It has been policy. It has been presidential"

Of course the "other part of the war" is lost according to Harry; "I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week,"The fundamental liberal fallacy is that worthwhile things should be easy, quick and natural.

The opposite is usually true--from success in life, education, finances, thought, freedom, health and certainly war. Consistency, persistence, not giving up, focus on higher values and meanings, adapting but not wavering, understanding that there is no "over"--especially if you believe in eternity, but even if you only believe that the sun will rise tomorrow.

Very few liberals think about "What comes after?". Whatever it is they assume they will simply "blame Bush and make political gains"--maybe worse would be better. Without some sort of vision for the future, it can always get worse. Getting the US "out of Vietnam" saved US lives, but at a cost of millions of others. "Giving up" on the diet, exercise, classes, saving, the job, the person or the race is always an option that seems easier at the moment--but often is the wrong choice when looked back at from the future.

No, unfortunately there is no dogmatic "always right", only tendencies. There are always valid reasons to consider other courses of action, but it is very hard to see how specific dates of pull out play into any hands but those of the terrorists. Such things mean little to guys like Reid. It is obvious that he will say what he thinks will appeal to the most people on a given day.

Consistency, commitment, discipline--very hard to believe in if one is without values that transcend how they feel. The ability of our minds to see beyond the moment, the year, the "next bend", to project a better future--even a future that is hard. All progress forward demands that uniquely human capability that is an important part of our higher selves, but in order to follow that part, we have to often forgo what we want today. We have to bypass the easy for the hard.